h2. Connection and disconnection

*LDAP* is a protocol which requires the user to be connected--and eventually identified--in order to be able to send requests to the server. We maintain this connection potentially forever. What makes the *LDAP* protocol different from, say, the *HTTP* protocol, is that the connection must be issued explicitly. Let's see how we do that.

h3. Opening a Connection

We can open a standard or secure connection. 

h4. Standard Connection

We can first establish a standard connection, where the data is sent and received in clear text (encoded in ASN.1 BER, but still unencrypted). This example shows the way it's done :

{code:java}
    LdapConnection connection = new LdapNetworkConnection( "localhost", 389 );
{code}

Here, we just created an unsafe connection locally, using port 389. Quite simple...

h4. Secure Connection

Although the *LDAPS* (*LDAP* over *SSL*) is now considered deprecated, many people continue to use it. The big advantage of not using *LDAPS* is that you don't need to set up two different listening ports (one for *LDAP* -389- and another one for *LDAPS* -636- ).

The only difference with the previous example is that we have to tell the connection that it has to use *SSL*, by passing *_true{_}* as a third parameter (incidentally, passing *_false{_}* set a unsafe connection).

Here is an example:

{code:java}
    LdapConnection connection = new LdapNetworkConnection( "localhost", 636, true );
{code}

h3. Keeping the Connection Open
We keep the connection open for a limited period of time, defaulting to 30 seconds. This might be not long enough, so one can change this delay by calling the _setTimeOut()_ method :

{code:java}
    LdapConnection connection = new LdapNetworkConnection( "localhost", 389 );
    connection.setTimeOut( 0 );
    ...
    connection.close();
{code}

{note}
Setting a value equal to or below 0 will keep the connection open forever (as long as the connection is not explicitly closed).
{note}

h3. Closing the Connection

Once you don't need to use the connection anymore (holding a connection keeps a session open on the server, and a socket open between the client and the server), then you have to close it. This is done by calling the _close()_ method:

{code:java}
    LdapConnection connection = new LdapNetworkConnection( "localhost", 389 );
    ...
    connection.close();
{code}